Emissary From The Death Star: Lynne Cheney on The <em>Daily Show</em>

Jon Stewart hosted Lynne Cheney on last night's Daily Show and, where you might have expected him to push her on the general failures of the Bush administration, he sort of...backed off? He appeared, at times, to struggle over what to say, and although he lobbed her some general questions about Iraq and gay marriage, at one point he conceded, "This is very uncomfortable. Only because you know what, here's the thing: You're not your husband, and it's not fair to challenge you on things that aren't you." Maybe it's because she greeted him with a Darth Vader action figure or perhaps because she was generally light-hearted and agreeable throughout the interview, but Stewart seemed both deferential and genuinely respectful towards Cheney — someone he clearly disagrees with — and it was interesting (and unusual) to see him struggling in an interview like that for the balance of that respect with what he obviously felt very strongly about putting to his highly-connected guest. It isn't the most crackling interview in the world, but it's interesting insofar is it's one of the rare times that Stewart seems to be wrestling on air, without being completely in control. It was the type of interview that might actually encourage conservatives to join him on The Daily Show more often. That said, he did run the popular feature "You Don't Know Dick" — but the respectful version, "You Don't Know Richard Cheney." When you don't have anything nice to say, sometimes saying nothing says it all.

Cheney actually showed her teeth a little more on "Morning Joe" this a.m. in a feisty exchange with Joe Scarborough (Joe: "I sort of suspect that at the end of 8 years you're gonna come out swinging." Cheney: "You want me to wait that long?" Heh.) Cheney took aim at Jimmy Carter and his recent comments about the U.S. and torture (you know, the ones where he called the other Cheney a "disaster"). Said [Lynne] Cheney: "Jimmy Carter is so predictable...he brings out a book and he creates a fuss." She said that she "was thinking that I really lost respect for Jimmy Carter in 1991" with respect to the U.N. resolution authorizing military action againt Saddam Hussein in Kuwait, when "as a former president took it upon himself to write heads of state urging them not to let their representatives vote" for the measure. She said that she thought at the time, "he really has crossed some kind of line here." 1991 smackdown! Joe returned to the main point, which was that Carter's statement were ultimately a marking ploy, yes? "You are saying it with a little less subtlety than I did," said Cheney, smiling. "I just said it was predictable." Ooh, snap!

Cheney also explained why she'd been more than happy to go on The Daily Show: "There's a great demographic there to reach...I wanted to reach all sorts of audiences — I didn't want to just sit inside the Beltway and talk to people I already know." An attitude her husband shares, we're sure.

Daily Show vid, Part 1 :

Daily Show vid, Part 2: